Two trainers engaged in the friendliest possible battle of words from opposite ends of this town on Thursday as the countdown begins in earnest to the first Classics of the new Flat season.

Clive Brittain hopes Rizeena can prove his best filly since Pebbles, a Breeders' Cup winner 30 years ago, but George Margarson hopes to turn her over in the 1,000 Guineas three weeks from now with Lucky Kristale, who came out on top when the pair met last summer.

"We couldn't have her in better condition than she is at the moment," Brittain said as he posed for photographs with Rizeena, the 6-1 favourite for the Guineas and an undeniably impressive specimen. "Her eyes look bright and sharp and she's got the look of eagles about her. We know that she's ready to do the business.

"Pebbles was difficult to train, she swam more miles than she galloped, by a long way. This filly is a lot more straightforward, has a turn of foot and a very good stride-pattern; basically, everything you want in a racehorse.

"I've been fortunate to have some very good animals to train, colts and fillies but mainly fillies. And when one comes along that your heart misses a beat when you're watching it, that's the one that your money's on."

Known for his willingness to tilt at ambitious targets, Brittain has also entered Rizeena in the 2,000 Guineas, in which she would race against colts. He seemed clear, however, that she will run in the 1,000 unless one or more of the fancied colts were to drop out of the other race.

Advancing years have done nothing to undercut Brittain's natural levity and he promised to celebrate victory, if it comes, with a "tree dance". Asked to explain, he said: "You've never seen the tree dance. It's sort of like a pole dance, with leaves. Oh, leaf me out."

Two hours earlier, Margarson had said the 12-1 shot Lucky Kristale was "exactly where I want her", with a racecourse gallop planned for next week's Craven meeting. But he freely nominated Rizeena as the horse he fears most "because, everyone sort of laughs at him a bit, but she's trained by a genius. He gets his horses ready, he knows what he's doing. He might play the clown and dance around but he puts a lot of thought into what he does."

Margarson pointed out that this Guineas represents the renewal of an old rivalry, since he was travelling head lad for Mick Ryan when he sent Katies to beat Pebbles at Royal Ascot in 1984. "I had to laugh last year when he said [Rizeena] was the best he's had since Pebbles. This is the best we've had since Katies."

Rizeena "might have gone a little bit weak" through growing so much, Margarson suggested. When that was put to Brittain, he responded: "I'm 80 now and I've never stopped growing. The heart gets stronger, the legs get weaker, but I'm still up on me toes … or anybody else's I dance with."

Carl Llewellyn, twice a Grand National winning jockey, said he was "absolutely mortified" after being found guilty of conduct prejudicial to the reputation of racing. He was fined £1,500 by the British Horseracing Authority for using a racial epithet during a Cheltenham Festival preview evening last month, an incident for which he was criticised by, among others, Helen Grant, the sports minister.

Llewellyn offered an unreserved apology and said he had apologised on the evening in question to a member of the audience who had taken offence. The BHA's disciplinary panel was presented with two character references plus a letter in support of Llewellyn from another audience member who said he had not been offended.

In a separate case before the BHA, a recent decision by the Stratford stewards to demote a winner, Dolatulo, for causing interference to the runner-up was reversed and Dolatulo was re-instated. The runner-up, Benbens, had been squeezed out against the stands' side running rail, where it bends around the water jump, but Gavin Sheehan, rider of Dolatulo, maintained he had kept his horse in a straight line and Benbens should not have tried to make his challenge where there was no room to do so.

The BHA's independent panel appear to have accepted that as a fair view under the present rules, though they have yet to issue a detailed judgement. That verdict may lead to some alteration of the rules before the next jumps season begins in earnest in the autumn, because the BHA's own officials argued for a different interpretation of events.

On that view, Sheehan had jumped the last fence towards the inside of the course and was not, therefore, entitled to make a bee-line for the outside rail 100 yards further down the track, thereby closing off the entire racecourse to anyone on his outside.

Sheehan said he would be happy for the water jump to be removed so as to elminate all risk of such issues in the future. "It's only there for the spectators and it's not the nicest jump in the world," he said. But he pointed out that the layouts at Fakenham, Huntingdon and Newbury mean that similar problems could arise there.